About the Global Cleantech 100

The 2010 list of the world's most promising private clean technology companies.

Drawing on the collective wisdom of the global cleantech community, Cleantech Group and the Guardian, will once again aggregate and synthesise opinion from across the globe to identify the cleantech companies that are most likely to achieve high growth and high market impact whilst delivering significant ecological benefit.

We are looking for Cleantech companies that are trailblazers in innovation, companies that deliver the very best low-carbon solutions, companies that:

The criteria

- How big is the problem it solves?- How unique is the solution?- How sustainable/protectable is the competitive advantage?

• The Market

- Size- Growth dynamics- Accessibility- Barriers to entry

• The Ability to Execute

- Financial strength- Team competencies- Connections and networks.

Companies must be independent, for-profit companies that are not listed on any major stock exchange.

Nominations

The nominations phase will be used to assemble and rank several thousand candidates and will provide a shortlist for judges. Nominations are passive and active and will come from a variety of sources.

Active nominations

Make sure you are on the list: companies can nominate themselves or be nominated by other individuals or agents between now and 14 July 2010, so long as they vote for 2 other companies which they admire and are not associated with. Click here to nominate now

Passive nominations

We will take passive nominations from analysing a wealth of market data, taking votes of confidence in a company's ability to achieve high growth and high market impact from such as:

• Investor backingCompanies that have raised more than $1 million in the last three years

• Major partnershipsCompanies who have established significant partnerships with major industry players

• Third party awards and rankings

Judges

A global panel of judges recruited across disciplines to ensure a balance of company types and stages. A full list will be published shortly.